Romantic comedy. The film adaptation of the play by the American screenwriter Philip Barry (which I have never seen), which was a huge success at one time on Broadway, staged by George Cukor, the director of my favorite picture "My Fair Lady". And since I am not familiar with the play, I will evaluate the picture as an independent work. And I was interested in this picture by Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, whom I remember from the good picture "Philadelphia Story", where their duet naturally shone, so when I found out that they starred together in this picture, I decided to check it out - and it was worth it. And here's my brief opinion for you - How a bank employee conquered a family of millionaires. I want to note right away that there are no minuses as such in the picture, but there is a small explanation that I will highlight in a separate paragraph, but for now I will focus your attention on the merits of this romantic comedy of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
So, here they are: 1. Scenario - a young and ambitious bank employee Johnny Case has conquered the heart of the beautiful Julia Seton, and it's clearly going to the wedding. However, there is one point - Julia herself and her family are millionaires who own factories, newspapers and steamships, so you need to inform the head of the family about this event, but carefully. In the process, Johnny meets Julia's brother Ned and her older sister Linda. And only after a few days spent in the Seton house, Johnny realizes who he really loves, and how a loving heart should act in this situation. The fact that this is a play becomes clear already at the very beginning, because the theater is a car and a small cart. The characters utter long monologues, sometimes they slightly overplay, but in each of their phrases there is something that catches the viewer and does not let them tear themselves away from the screen. This is the greatness of the old movie - you never know how the hero will act in the next second, you only know where it all goes and how it should be done approximately. So it was in the Philadelphia Story, so it is here. Characters, dialogues - everything is worked out thoroughly. There is no extra garbage that serves to stretch the timekeeping. Everything is clear and strictly to the point. There are a lot of events in the picture, the scene follows the scene, and the predictable ending completes the whole story. Learn modern screenwriters!
2. Humor - since we have a romantic comedy, they will make us laugh. And the creators succeed in this. Moreover, the local humor is filled with a certain philosophy, a lot of funny moments and in general such jokes that only educated people will understand (and I'm not talking about diploma crusts that are gathering dust in our documents folder). Personally, I liked this approach. I got my portion of pleasure, my portion of laughter, and appreciated the elegant mockery of the snobs of high American society.
3. Aesthetic beauty - everything in the frame looks great. Costumes, dresses, household items, furnishings of houses, apartments, etc. And this is despite the fact that the picture is black and white. The picture is full of colors. It's nice to look at her. Chic, glitter, beauty. The clothes on the characters "sit" as it should. Well, right ideal. This is how the picture should look like. A worthy example to follow.
4. Acting is an old Hollywood school, where everyone gives their best one hundred percent (and even more), for high fees. Every actor is in his place, not a hitch. There's not even anything to find fault with. No actor causes rejection. The text has clearly been worked out more than one hundred times. These are not modern schools of "stone mug" or "squealing pig".
A little about the main characters: 1. Johnny Case, played by Cary Grant, is a respectable bank employee who fell in love with the daughter of a millionaire, although he treats money only from a practical point of view (they are not his whole life for him). Very freedom-loving, eager for adventure, which does not suit his chosen Julia. Cary Grant was great in this role. Bravo!
2. Julia Seton, played by Doris Nolan, is the youngest daughter from a rich and very influential family who fell in love with Johnny, a man who is below her in status. With external beauty, it is a typical product of its system - money is everything for it. Doris was great in this role. Bravo!
3. Linda Seton, played by Katharine Hepburn, is Julia's older sister, and a very freedom-loving daughter in a millionaire's family who does everything "her own way". Linda is a girl with her own zest, which only Brother Ned really understands. It is from her mouth that we hear the most important dialogues in this picture, which make us think about a lot. Catherine was great in this role, and the duet with Cary Grant here was no less convincing than in the "Philadelphia Story", because there is so much "spark" between them. Bravo!
Of course, if you judge the picture sensibly, if you forget about the gloss and think, then this is a pure fairy tale about a bourgeois paradise, where even an ordinary person can enter a millionaire's family, and where he will be respected. Ah, dreams, dreams! Yes, such families can only be related to their own kind, the way is ordered for strangers there. No, of course you can try, but you won't succeed with a 99.9% probability. This picture is the purest bourgeois fairy tale from America of the thirties. Beautiful, glossy, but it is a fairy tale that has nothing similar to life. It's a movie, a good movie, but only a movie.
My rating is 7 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
So, here they are: 1. Scenario - a young and ambitious bank employee Johnny Case has conquered the heart of the beautiful Julia Seton, and it's clearly going to the wedding. However, there is one point - Julia herself and her family are millionaires who own factories, newspapers and steamships, so you need to inform the head of the family about this event, but carefully. In the process, Johnny meets Julia's brother Ned and her older sister Linda. And only after a few days spent in the Seton house, Johnny realizes who he really loves, and how a loving heart should act in this situation. The fact that this is a play becomes clear already at the very beginning, because the theater is a car and a small cart. The characters utter long monologues, sometimes they slightly overplay, but in each of their phrases there is something that catches the viewer and does not let them tear themselves away from the screen. This is the greatness of the old movie - you never know how the hero will act in the next second, you only know where it all goes and how it should be done approximately. So it was in the Philadelphia Story, so it is here. Characters, dialogues - everything is worked out thoroughly. There is no extra garbage that serves to stretch the timekeeping. Everything is clear and strictly to the point. There are a lot of events in the picture, the scene follows the scene, and the predictable ending completes the whole story. Learn modern screenwriters!
2. Humor - since we have a romantic comedy, they will make us laugh. And the creators succeed in this. Moreover, the local humor is filled with a certain philosophy, a lot of funny moments and in general such jokes that only educated people will understand (and I'm not talking about diploma crusts that are gathering dust in our documents folder). Personally, I liked this approach. I got my portion of pleasure, my portion of laughter, and appreciated the elegant mockery of the snobs of high American society.
3. Aesthetic beauty - everything in the frame looks great. Costumes, dresses, household items, furnishings of houses, apartments, etc. And this is despite the fact that the picture is black and white. The picture is full of colors. It's nice to look at her. Chic, glitter, beauty. The clothes on the characters "sit" as it should. Well, right ideal. This is how the picture should look like. A worthy example to follow.
4. Acting is an old Hollywood school, where everyone gives their best one hundred percent (and even more), for high fees. Every actor is in his place, not a hitch. There's not even anything to find fault with. No actor causes rejection. The text has clearly been worked out more than one hundred times. These are not modern schools of "stone mug" or "squealing pig".
A little about the main characters: 1. Johnny Case, played by Cary Grant, is a respectable bank employee who fell in love with the daughter of a millionaire, although he treats money only from a practical point of view (they are not his whole life for him). Very freedom-loving, eager for adventure, which does not suit his chosen Julia. Cary Grant was great in this role. Bravo!
2. Julia Seton, played by Doris Nolan, is the youngest daughter from a rich and very influential family who fell in love with Johnny, a man who is below her in status. With external beauty, it is a typical product of its system - money is everything for it. Doris was great in this role. Bravo!
3. Linda Seton, played by Katharine Hepburn, is Julia's older sister, and a very freedom-loving daughter in a millionaire's family who does everything "her own way". Linda is a girl with her own zest, which only Brother Ned really understands. It is from her mouth that we hear the most important dialogues in this picture, which make us think about a lot. Catherine was great in this role, and the duet with Cary Grant here was no less convincing than in the "Philadelphia Story", because there is so much "spark" between them. Bravo!
Of course, if you judge the picture sensibly, if you forget about the gloss and think, then this is a pure fairy tale about a bourgeois paradise, where even an ordinary person can enter a millionaire's family, and where he will be respected. Ah, dreams, dreams! Yes, such families can only be related to their own kind, the way is ordered for strangers there. No, of course you can try, but you won't succeed with a 99.9% probability. This picture is the purest bourgeois fairy tale from America of the thirties. Beautiful, glossy, but it is a fairy tale that has nothing similar to life. It's a movie, a good movie, but only a movie.
My rating is 7 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!